IT’S never good when the third person enters a politician’s diction. It’s like a vulture circling their last cogent moments.

Donald Trump was forever referring to himself as Donald Trump in a stream of self-adulation during his presidency. Boris Johnson didn’t go that far yesterday, but he certainly put a toe in the crazy water.

Confronted at PMQs by Christian Wakeford, the MP for the red wall seat of Bury South, defecting from the Tories to Labour, Mr Johnson offered the following eerily disembodied response.

“The Conservative party won Bury South for the first time in generations under this Prime Minister, with an agenda of uniting and levelling up and delivering for the people of Bury South, and we will win again in Bury South at the next election under this Prime Minister.”

Mr Johnson’s odd phrasing was at least in keeping with the febrile atmosphere in the Commons over his future.

But whether this Prime Minister was right about this Prime Minister still happily leading the Tories by the time of the next election seems optimistic.

Despite Sir Keir Starmer failing to land any killer blows, and the PM showing some of his old bounce, former Brexit Secretary David Davis putting the boot in underlined how precarious and subject to events his position remains.

“In the name of God, go,” said Mr Davis, fed up at his leader’s failure to lead.

The final straw was Mr Johnson’s TV interview on Tuesday in which he insisted no one had warned him a boozy fiesta in the Downing Street garden might not have been a work event after all.

“Nobody told me that what we were doing was against the rules,” said the man who set the rules, as the nation ground its teeth. It seemed to many the PM is relying on the gullibility of others to escape. But like his famous luck, it’s running out fast.

All eyes are on Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee, to whom Tory MPs can direct requests for a no confidence vote in the PM. If he gets requests from 15 per cent of them, or 54 of 359, a vote is triggered which Mr Johnson can win or lose by a simple majority.

The last time this happened was in December 2018, when hardline Brexiteers tried to topple Theresa May.

In a bid to minimise the damage, Mrs May let it be known that she would not contest the next general election as leader.

Although 200 of her MPs gave her their support, another 117 voted against her, shattering her authority.

In the end, she limped on for another six months until the May 2019 European elections saw the Tories come a remarkable fifth behind the Greens.

She quit the next day, and Boris Johnson replaced her two months later after a keenly fought leadership contest.

In 2018, Mrs May was able to argue that her removal might cause problems for the delivery of Brexit, even though the pace and form of Brexit triggered the vote.

Mr Johnson has no such argument, because he is not essential to anything.

‘If you get rid of me, who will deliver levelling up?’ isn’t going to cut it because it’s still unclear what his signature idea is.

If he went, a few more empty slogans would deflate with him, but there is, tellingly, no grand project a tearful nation would miss out on. He has his reputation as a vote winner to tout, but the polls suggest that was yesterday’s trait.

Mr Johnson’s turn at PMQs suggests he will simply dig in and damn the rest.

Number 10 has said he will contest any no confidence vote, rather than resign.

We also know he wants to fight the next general election, so there will be no sop to his critics in that direction. If you want me out, you have to fight me, is the message.

Will the looming report by mandarin Sue Gray into partygate change things?

It’s doubtful. It’s hard to imagine it contains anything exculpatory for the Prime Minister, so it won’t do him any favours. But nor will it shame him into altering course. His character, the issue which has been central to the recent pile-up of scandals, is for staying put.

Remember, it takes a lot to dislodge a Prime Minister, and exceptional circumstances for a Prime Minister to walk away from the job. If you’ve spent your life grubbing away to get into range of Number 10, every fibre in your being will tell you to stick it out. Indeed, sheer bloodymindedness is part of the job spec.

So even if there is a vote in the coming days, it is perfectly possible that Mr Johnson (with a payroll vote boosting his support) will lead the Tories into the local elections in May, when the voters will decide whether he is still a winner or not.

Even if there is a disaster, there cannot be a second confidence vote within 12 months, and so Mr Johnson would be able to carry on if he chose, lame duck or no.

It is an unedifying prospect. But it not the only one. One of the most dismal aspects of this whole episode has been the response of Mr Johnson’s backbenchers to his conduct. Time and again, we hear that MPs are considering the best moment to act - now or after the Gray report? After the Gray report or after May? After a frontrunner emerges to replace the PM?

On one level, it’s understandable that MPs might want to exercise caution over a scandal caused by a lack of it. But also consider what it says about them.

Despite all they know, some 85% of Tory MPs have so far decided not to act. Instead of being moved by the repulsion felt by their constituents there has been calculation and self-interest. Because all those questions about timing basically boil down to ‘What’s best for me?’

What can I get in the bidding war to come, when Mr Johnson’s would-be replacements look for support? If they need me to demand a no-confidence vote, what can I get in the trade?

MPs aren’t acting on their gut, but hanging back until activated by one camp or another, based on who looks most likely to get that MP particular reelected.

It is as gross as the weaselly rubbish Mr Johnson has tried to hide behind.

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has his faults, but at least he urged Mr Johnson to go promptly. This affair is shedding a light on more than the Prime Minister’s character. His whole party is in the glare.